What the MPS Feasibility Report Means for Forensic Science Today

Posted by Battelle Insider on Aug 17, 2017

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While Massively Parallel Sequencing (also referred to as Next Generation Sequencing or NGS) has been the talk of DNA scientists for some time, it’s closer than ever to becoming a valid asset for law enforcement. For the first time, objective data is available to assess the feasibility of implementing MPS technology specifically within forensic casework.

According to an exhaustive report conducted by Battelle for the National Institute of Justice, MPS is primed for mainstream forensic adoption.

What is the MPS Feasibility Report?

Over 19 months, Battelle research leaders worked tirelessly to organize, conduct and analyze the findings of a highly complex research project. To perform the analysis, Battelle included eight forensic laboratories to participate in the study—representing city, county, state, federal, academic and DNA research institutions.

An Overview of the Research Scope

At the highest level, the study consisted of two key phases: performance testing and inter-lab testing. Below, we will briefly describe the key objectives and outcomes of each phase of the study.

Phase 1: MPS Performance Testing
To begin the MPS assessment study, researchers and partner labs worked together to identify the requirements and evaluation criteria. Those criteria focused on the following categories:

Sensitivity

Precision

Accuracy

Reproducibility

Concordance

Mixtures

In addition, frequent discussions were held to assess the commercially available NGS products for use within the study. The final platforms (listed in detail within the report) used included products from the following study collaborators:

Illumina

NCSU

Promega

ThermoFisher Scientific

Agilent

With the proper platforms identified, Battelle identified and assessed operations for each workflow, optimized processes for each workflow, locked down the methods, and delivered standard operating procedures (SOPs) to our respective partner laboratories.

Phase 2: Inter-laboratory Testing
In Phase 2 of the project, standardized DNA samples were sent to each of the partner laboratories for analyses. This process was designed in a way to strategically progress across the established validation categories mentioned above.

The results were extremely impressive.

Laboratories performing the same workflows, and using the same instruments and software produced results that were concordant with each other. These are critical observations from a technology transfer perspective, considering the study’s data was generated from a range of laboratories varying in size and mission. This includes those gaining their first exposure to the MPS (NGS) technology through this study to those with considerable experience in the technology.

4 Key Takeaways from the NIJ Report

The data compiled in the report provides an objective assessment of the NGS technology for forensic applications to include strengths, vulnerabilities and opportunities for improvement. The results hold promising potential for DNA scientists and DNA technical leaders around the country.

Key takeaways include the following:

MPS data is robust, reliable, reproducible and sensitive across laboratories performing the same workflows using the same instruments and software.

The studied MPS technologies and workflows produce results that are reliable and accurate for criminal investigation.

These findings represent only the most crucial takeaways. Within the data, there are still open considerations and fascinating discoveries waiting to be discussed and further validated. In a series of four webcasts, our researcher leaders go into great detail about the different aspects of the research and findings. If you’re a DNA technical leader, it’s a series of conversations you can’t miss.

What’s Next for MPS and the Forensic Community?

We believe we are at a watershed moment for MPS and mainstream forensic adoption.

The data generated by this research study, combined with the critical insight from participating thought leaders of the forensic DNA community, can facilitate the development of a strategic roadmap for implementation of NGS into forensic casework laboratories.

It’s an imperative that will deliver significant benefits to the public, victims of crimes or disasters, and the wrongfully accused.